Hassan Jandoubi

Hassan Jandoubi was Tunisian born French national, who was killed on September 21, 2001 in the AZF chemical factory explosion at Toulouse in Southern France. He was subsequently investigated by French anti-terrorist authorities as the prime suspect in the blast.

Early life

Upon arrival from Tunisia, Jandoubi had been known to French police as the suspected ringleader of a gang trafficking stolen cars between France and Germany. He became an active member of a mosque in the Toulouse suburbs where he was "initiated to fundamentalism".

He was known by locals and police to be part of a gang seen celebrating the September 11 terror attacks, however at the time of his death his name did not feature on lists of fundamentalist terrorist suspects maintained by Interpol, the French intelligence service or the counter-espionage agency DST.

Jandoubi was hired to unload ammonium nitrate at the AZF plant by a subcontractor five days before the explosion. He was already known to local police for possible Islamic fundamentalist sympathies, and was involved in several angry altercations before the blast with co-workers who were displaying the U.S. flag in sympathy with victims of the September 11 attacks.

Blast

At 10.17 a.m September 21 2001, ten days after the attacks in the United States, A massive explosion destroyed the entire AZF facility in Toulouse, killing 29 people, injured over 3000 people and damaged 10,000 buildings, including nearby schools, hospitals, businesses and 600 homes. The explosion measured 3.5 on the Richter scale and windows were blown out over three miles away from the epicenter. 1,400 families were left homeless. The blast released an ammonia cloud that eventually settled on nearby suburbs sending many more to hospital. On the day of the blast, Jandoubi was working in hangar 10, 30 yards from hangar 221 whose stock of 200-300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded at .

Investigation

French Police and investigators were initially intrigued by the fact that Jandoubi was found with a mobile phone fitted with a stolen SIM card. Media interest was further aroused by the results of his autopsy, which was carried out by a doctor who had worked in the Middle East for the international aid organisation Médecins du Monde. The medical examiner noted that Jandoubi was wearing two pairs of trousers and four pairs of underpants, which reminded her; "of the apparel worn by some Islamic militants going into battle or on suicide missions".

Media reports in France heavily reported the fact he was dressed in several layers of garments, and described how they were arranged "in the manner of kamikaze fundamentalists."

The chief prosecuter, Michel Breard, barred police and investigators from searching Jandoubi's apartment for five days after the explosion. When the apartment was finally entered, though found that it was cleaned out. There were no clothes, no personal effects or photos. The women living at the apartment, who later claimed to be his girlfriend, stated she had thrown everything of his out straight away.

[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/10/04/gen.france.explosion/index.html Anti-Terror probe into French blast] CNN Oct 4 2001] [http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2001/10/05/News/Explosion.In.France.May.Have.Been.Terrorism-1407283.shtml Explosion in France may have been Terrorism] The Michigan Daily Oct 5 2001] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,,563532,00.html Terrorism link to French explosion] The Guardian Oct 5 2001] Paul Seabright [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n21/print/seab01_.html What Explosion?] London Review of Books Nov 1 2001]

References